Bangladesh: What will happen to the Rohingya? | The Stream

Many Rohingya refugees lost their lifeline to the world this month after the Bangladeshi government blocked their access to mobile phone services. Overwhelmed with the refugee crisis, Bangladesh is also trying to relocate some Rohingya to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. But Bhasan Char is prone to cyclones, and refugees fear being stuck there for good. Fleeing decades of persecution, more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees live in congested camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, bordering Myanmar. Many of them left Rakhine state two years ago, after government forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim population. At that time, the military tortured, raped and killed thousands of Rohingya in what the United Nations has called an "ethnic cleansing campaign." UN officials warned this month that little has changed and Rohingya who return to Myanmar face "the same dire circumstances" as in 2017 – a claim authorities deny. But there is also no healthcare or education for refugees and their children in Bangladesh. Officials there are calling for an international solution, saying the country cannot afford to take care of the migrants for much longer. In this episode we ask: What will happen to the Rohingya people? #aljazeeralive #ajstream #bangladesh